Design Jobs Part 4: Networking 

For my last blog in the Design Jobs series, my friend and fellow designer, MSU alumnus Daniel Thai suggested that I cover networking. Connections made online and job tips found on Twitter can lead to freelance work and valuable contacts.

Unfortunately, I’ve never had this experience myself, and I felt the advice would be more useful coming from someone who has.

For the final installment regarding design jobs, I asked Daniel to write a guest blog detailing his experiences with networking.
 
If you’re looking for a job, you’ve probably fine-tuned your cover letter, tweaked your resume and put together the perfect interview outfit. After answering the employer’s questions and asking some of your own, you leave the interview and wait for the decision. The phone call eventually comes, and the employer chooses someone else over you.

This result doesn’t mean you’re back at the beginning of your search. You’ve actually taken an important step in finding employment: networking. I’m a freelance designer, which might sound glamorous, but all it really means is that I’m constantly searching for that next gig, and I always find it through one form of networking or another.

Inter-personal networking
For the job seeker: don’t be spiteful toward the employer who didn’t hire you, in fact, do the opposite. Keep in close contact with that person: He or she didn’t hire you, but that person might know someone who will, and word of mouth is the strongest (and cheapest) form of advertising.

The opportunities for networking are endless: friends, family, employers, co-workers, professors and, for freelancers like me, clients, are some places to start. Networking isn’t hard, it just takes dedication and a lot of confidence. Know your goals and show people your work. I don’t have business cards, but I always carry some leave behinds with me if anyone ever asks what I do. I’ve basically given them a mini-portfolio, which saves them the time of looking me up online, and lets them know immediately that I’m not a talentless hack. The next time they hear of someone looking for a designer, I’ll already have a foot in the door.

Create an online presence
That’s basic, old-school networking. Now, in the age of social media, networking is easier than ever. In fact, I’ve never met any of my clients in person. As a freelancer, I might define “job” differently than a soon-to-be college graduate would, but the principles of networking online are similar for all designers. Make your name and work available in the proper channels, and jobs will find you.

The first and most important step is to have a good portfolio. Obviously anyone looking to hire a designer wants to see examples of previous work, but you won’t always have your binder of clips with you. Now potential clients need only a URL instead of a stack of papers. If they like what they see, they can easily access and pass it along.

Another networking point lies in blogs. Many of the best designers have their own blogs and the design community is a very friendly one. I look to design blogs for tutorials as well as for inspiration.

Some focus on topics such as logos and typography while others discuss design trends in general. The commonality among them all is that they create forums for discussion. Join that discussion by commenting on other people’s blogs with some insights of your own.

People will notice your involvement, and they’ll return the favor by visiting your blog, which is important. Your blog gives your clips context. It gives clients a better idea of who you are as a designer and as a person. I use my blog as a digital playground to experiment with new techniques as well as reveal my growth as a designer. Clients usually are impressed by the initiative and creativity necessary to maintain such a project outside of normal working hours.

It takes time and work to incorporate blogs into your routine, but there’s the short and quick (and real-time) version of it all: Twitter. I follow a gaggle of designers and I mostly glean (and often re-tweet) links from them. I’ve also found most of my jobs on Twitter. The search ‘looking for a graphic designer’ brings up tweets looking for contract jobs and full-time jobs. A few replies and direct messages later, I can have a full schedule of projects from across the country.

Prioritize networking
My most successful project so far actually is one I did for free because it’s a prime example of good networking. Someone posted on Twitter they were looking for a graphic designer to create a flyer for their friend. I replied and got the contact information for that client, which happened to be an Alzheimer’s care center with little money to spare.

I did the project pro bono to help my portfolio, but it turns out the marketing director is highly connected in San Francisco. In exchange for my work, she emailed a recommendation to the 500 members of her networking group. As a result, I now have a few projects on my docket.

Not every connection will turn into a job, but like many other industries, there’s a premium on who you know, so make it an important part of your job search. Be confident in yourself and your skills, and the word will spread. You have a service that people want, but they can’t pay for it if they don’t know about it. With more quality connections, you’ll have a higher chance of finding that person who knows about that place looking for a designer like you. 

Daniel Thai, a 2007 graduate of Michigan State, is a freelance graphic designer who moonlights as a photographer and traveling salesman. You can check out his portfolio or follow him on Twitter.
 

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